Finding back to life
by EwaSedai
Summary: After the death of his twin brother Fred, George Weasley looses himself in alcohol and grief until one day a young witch from Scotland enters his life, determined to visit the now closed Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
1. Chapter 1 - First meetings

Disappointed, Keylin regarded the sign at the front of Weasly's Wizard Wheezes. It read "We are temporarily closed due to bereavement in our family". For a moment Keylin wondered if somebody else had died. She knew of course, that Fred Weasly had died fighting You Know Who in the battle of Hogwarts, but it that had been five months ago. She considered returning to Scotland, but she had barely just left and had really no desire to return so quickly. As always, thinking of home made her think of David, damn that bastard, so she quickly focused again on the matter at hand. She had come to visit this shop, so God help her she would.

She glanced around her and saw an old, friendly looking witch approaching. "Excuse me Ma'am", she said to the witch, "but do you happen to know when the shop will open again?" "Oh dear", she replied looking sad, "I am not quite sure George Weasly will ever open it again, with his brother..". She did not finish the sentence, but looked even sadder than before. "I see", Keylin replied. "Do you have any idea where I might find Mr. Weasly? Do you know where he lives?" The witch regarded her for a moment and then said. "Well dear, around that time of day you will certainly find him in the Leaky Cauldron." Keylin raised her eyebrows, it was barely 4 pm. For the length of her stay in London, she had taken a room at the Leaky Cauldron herself and wondered if she had walked past him.

She thanked the witch and returned to the bar. As always, old Tom was standing behind the bar polishing glasses with a greasy cloth. Thank God he did not clean the guest rooms himself, but had another witch do it. She let her gaze sweep over the few guests in the bar. She could not imagine any of them being George Weasly. So she went over to Tom and said "Hi Tom, I am looking for George Weasly, do you know him, is he here?" Instead of replying, Tom just nodded to a stool at the bar, where a slumped man with read hair was sitting, starring into a glass of Firewhisky. He was about Keylins age, and quite tall, though it was difficult to see with the way he held himself.

Giving herself no time to reconsider, she ordered two butterbeers and went over to George Weasly. "Mr. Weasly? I am Keylin MacDonnald. Do you mind if I sit down?" Slowly, as if it took him much effort, George Weasly looked up from his glass to stare at her. He stared at here, as if she had just ridden into the bar on the back of a Hippogriff and declared herself Queen of Scotland. He still didn't say anything, though, and wondering if this hadn't really been a stupid idea after all, she sat down on a stool next to him and pushed the butterbeer in front of him. He smelled quite strongly of Whisky and unwashed man. She quickly glanced at his clothes, which looked like he had been wearing them for a while. George Weasly quite simply, was completely wasted. "Mr. Weasly", she began again, "do you mind if I call you George?" He was still staring at here disbelievingly, and it seriously started to make her feel uncomfortable, but then a grunt escaped his mouth that could have meant just about anything. Keylin decided to take it as a confirmation.

"George, I am really interested in visiting your shop. While I was at school, I myself experimented with spells and hoaxes, and I would just be really interested what you have realized in your shop. I do not intend to make a living out of it myself, so you do not need to fear competition, but I have a certain professional curiosity. Would you mind showing it to me?" George Weasly was still starring at here with the same expression that he had adopted when she had approached him earlier, but this time he managed a "shop is closed", before finally lowering his gaze to stare back down into his glass.

Keylin felt relieved that he was capable of speaking after all, and quite frankly, that he had stopped starring at her. She could see the hole at the side of his head, the place where his ear once had been. Keylin had read that he had lost it to a Death Eaters curse. The unhealed wound added quite a bit to the rugged image of George Weasly. "I saw the sign", she replied, "and I am truly sorry for your loss. I was just wondering if you would give me quick private tour". With an effort, he turned back to her. "No", was all he said. He turned his head further and tried to focus his eyes on Tom and shook his empty Whiskey glass. "Hey Tom, bring me another one." "I think he has had quite enough", Keylin said to the approaching Tom. "Aye", he replied, I think you might be right." Keylin eyed George for a minute and then sighed. "I'll bring him home, where does he live?"

Half dragging, half supporting George Weasly through Diaggon Alley, Keylin wondered what had made her volunteer to take care of a drunken man she did not even know. Well too late now, he could hardly walk by himself, and she could not leave him lying in the street, so she hunched her shoulders and pressed on. Finally she stood in front of the small house that Tom had described to her. She fumbled with his keys and managed to unlock the door after a few seconds. Thank good it was not guarded by any spells.

She half pushed, half dragged him up the stairs and luckily managed to find the bedroom with the first try of doors. She pushed him on the bed and removed his shoos. She saw a glass of water sitting of the counter and forced the contents down George Weaslys throat. He did not seem to mind, in fact he was very drowsy by now. She pulled up the blankets and peered into his face. His eyes were sunken and he had not shaved in days. Suddenly, he opened his eyes again and was starring at here again with the same unbelieving gaze as at the beginning of their short encounter. Keylin was about to say goodbye and turn away, when he said "You are so beautiful". He was asleep seconds after. Where the hell had that come from? She left the bedroom and then the house, and closed the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2 - Awakening

Grinning, Keylin pressed George Weaslys doorbell a fourth time. Of course he was still asleep, she had expected him to. After all, it was just eight a clock and he had had quite a night. She was about to press the door bell a fifth time, when the door was roughly pulled open to reveal an angry and dishevelled George Weasly standing on the doorway. He wore the same clothes with which she had put him into bed the night before, but he did not seem drunk anymore. He glared at her angrily. "What do you want?"

Smiling up at him, as if she did not notice his anger she said "Good morning, George. I'm not sure if you remember me, we met last night." "I remember you. What do you want?" Still no letting his tone discourage her she said "I want the same thing I wanted last night. A private tour of your shop." "Well, the answer is still the same as last night", he grovelled and was about to shut the door in her face. Yet she had expected that and stopped the door with a little wave of her wand. "May I come in?" Not waiting for an answer, she strode past him and into his living room, which was connected to the kitchen. The place was a complete mess. Clothes and other junk were covering almost every free spot in the living room. Dirty dishes with half eaten meals were stapled in the kitchen sink. She started for a chair to sit down, but spotted something that looked like dirty underwear in the last minute before sitting down. Slightly disgusted she decided it was safest to remain standing.

As she turned around, George was learning in the doorway, his arms crossed before his chest. With a slight grin on his face he gestured to the front door. "If you don't like my place, feel free to leave". It seemed like he had regained his balance after her little intrusion. Well, in that case it was time to get him off balance again. "Trust me, I have no desire to spend much time here. So how about breakfast? Somewhere else, obviously". As expected, the grin vanished from his face. "Breakfast?" he echoed somewhat sheepishly. "Yes", Keylin grinned, "you know, the thing you eat in the morning". He angrily opened his mouth but then shut it again. He seemed more angry with himself that he had provided her this opening. "Fine, but you buy. But first I'll take a shower." "Yes please do", Keylin retorted. She thought she saw him blush while he stalked angrily towards the bathroom. With the red hair, it was quite fetching.

While she was waiting, Keylin considered doing some cleaning spells, but decided again it. It certainly would be no effort, but she thought it wasn't a good idea to get men used to women doing their household spells for them. So she carefully stalked between all the rubbish lying on the floor to inspect a large picture of a family on the wall. It clearly was George's family. Everybody had the same red hair, the friendly looking women who proudly looked into the camera, as well as the tall kind man who had his arm around her shoulders. Around the couple, seven children were gathered, six boys and one girl. The girl was the youngest at about 15, while the oldest seemed to be in his late twenties. But her eyes were immediately drawn to the twins standing site by site. From the age difference of the twins to the one currently in the shower, she guessed that the picture was taken two to three years ago, but it might as well have been a lifetime for the difference in expression of the picture twins to George Weasly. In the picture, the twins wore identical grins that nearly split their faces in half and their eyes sparkled with mischief. They turned and grinned at each other, as if they shared a private joke that everybody else was ignorant of. She stepped closer to the picture and was studying the twins now in earnest. They were obviously identical twins, and even though they looked extremely similar, their hairstyle, their clothes, their height, their faces, she thought she recognized one of them as George.

"So can you tell us apart?" With a start, Keylin turned around. George Weasly was leaning again in the doorway, his pose identical to the one he had adopted previously. Now, however, he was freshly showered and shaved and had donned fresh clothes. It was quite a difference. The smile that spread about his face however, seemed forced at best though. "Actually, I think I do." She turned back to the picture and pointed to the left twin. "That is you." He looked at her suspiciously. "Pah, you had a 50/50 chance. You guessed." "I did not." Keylin replied, determined to keep the upper hand also in this exchange. "How did you know then?" "Your eyes," she said, "your eyes are different." He relaxed from his stance in the doorway and came towards here. He was starring at her again. Little goose bumps were beginning to form on Keylins back. This George Weasly really did have quite an intense stare. It felt like he was looking through her.

Finally, he turned to the picture, as if to compare the eyes of the twins in the picture himself. Yet after a short moment, he looked back to her. "Hardly anyone outside of my family could ever tell us apart, and they were almost as often wrong as they were right." Keylins heart missed a beat, and she could feel herself blushing. It did not help that George was starring at her again. Really, somebody ought to tell him not to stare at people like that. Embarrassed, she tried to downplay the situation and shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe I was just lucky after all. Are you ready?" Without waiting for an answer she walked past him and out of the doors. She thought she could feel his stare on her back.


	3. Chapter 3 - Breakfast

During breakfast, life seemed to seep slowly back into George Weasly. At the beginning, he had been grumpy and short lipped in his responses, not asking any questions at all. So she had done most of the talking at first, she talked about her time at Hightower, the Scottish Wizarding school, about the ancient Mr. Gunges who taught history, about Mrs. MacArthur, who taught Defence against the Dark Arts, but jumped on the tables when she let a hoax of her own creation loose in the classroom. Several times she saw a smile on his face that she judged as genuine and he actually laughed at the story of how Prof. Harrows was chased all through the school by a set of jinxes she had set off.

Finally, he also began to share some stories of his time at Hogwarts, and how he and Fred had literally terrorised the whole schools and all teachers with their jokes. There even seemed to be a small sparkle returning to his eyes as he remembers his previous mischiefs. By the time they were finished with breakfast he seemed quite relaxed. Kelyin considered asking him about a tour of the shop again, but she was afraid that it might ruin the good mood. So she asked for a tour of Diagon Alley instead. Luckily, he agreed after just a slight hesitation.

Keylin was seriously impressed by the beauty and ornaments of Gringots and was delighted by Mr. Olivanders wandshop, even though unfortunately old Mr. Olivander no longer worked the shop himself, as he had been captured and tortured for many months by Grindelwald. They passed the closed Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, but George made no comment about it and neither did Keylin. She even managed to pretend to enjoy the dark and dangerous atmosphere of Knockturn Alley, since George was watching her very carefully. She had no intention of showing that this place made her feel uncomfortable.

Finally it was already dark outside, they returned to the Leaky Cauldron. George shot a quick glance towards the bar and then shook his head. "I think that's enough for me for today, it was a long day and somebody woke me early." "How rude," Keylin replied, and let an innocent smile spread over her face. George regarded her for a moment, and she again felt this intensity in the way he looked at her. "How about tomorrow, I show you my shop?" "That," Keylin smiled, "would be wonderful."


	4. Chapter 4 - Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

Keylin was jumping from one foot to the other and checked her watch again, as she waited for George in front of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. It was not that George was late, _she_ was early. She felt strangely excited for this day. Of course, she had wanted to see this shop for many days now, but she thought that the reason for her excitement was not only the prospect of seeing the shop. Her thoughts went to its owner. What a strange man. Obviously, the death of his twin brother had shaken him gravely, but she thought that yesterday some of his old self has peaked through the mask of pain. And she had liked what she had seen.

Finally, but still five minutes early, George Weasley arrived, and he actually seemed happy to see her. "Good morning," she smiled at him. He returned her smile and her heart missed a step. Wow, he really had a nice smile. He smelled faintly of soap and wore different clothes than the day before, so upon meeting her he seemed to have taken daily showering and clothes changing up again. "Shall, we?" he asked. Keylin nodded and followed him into the shop.

Immediately her attention was drawn to the items on display in the shelves. Everything was a bit dusty, it seemed nobody had entered the shop in weeks, but it created a mysterious atmosphere in its emptiness. Keylin glanced towards George who had stopped after a few steps. He looked just incredibly sad. On a whim, she took his hand and gave it a squeeze. It took him a moment to focus on her, but then he nodded in thanks and she dropped her hand. He took out his wand and gave it a flick, and the place exploded in light and colour. There were dozens and dozens of shelves stuffed with items. Keylin's mouth dropped open, she had not imagined the shop to be so big. "And these are just the simple jinxes and hexes," he said proudly noting her wide eyes. "Come on, I'll show you the good stuff."


	5. Chapter 5 - The proposal

Pushing away her plate, Keylin leaned back in her chair satisfied. She had been rather sceptical at first, when George had invited her for dinner at his place. She still remembered how it had looked the first time she visited. But she wanted to discuss more about hoaxes with him, so she finally had agreed. She needn't have worried. His flat was absolutely clean and tidy, the dishes done and the formerly dirty clothes hung to dry in a corner. "So you cleaned up for me?" she teased him. "Don't flatter yourself. I am a wizard after all, and I do clean sometimes." He had come up with quite a tasty dish, another thing she had not expected given the beginning of their relationship.

"So", George finally said, "how much longer do you plan to stay in London?" "Oh, I'm not quite sure. Actually, I haven't really made any plans. My departure from Scotland was rather abrupt. I have been wanting to visit London for a long time, so I came here first." "And what is it exactly that you do in Scotland?" "Well, I probably have the most boring job in the whole world." "Really?" George laughed. "I cannot imagine somebody like you ever doing a boring job." Keylin smiled at the compliment. "It just kind of happened. My mother is a witch, but my father is a Muggle. He does not really understand your world. He, and by extension my two older brothers, are very protective. Right after I finished school, I stared working at the Ministry as an assistant. I advanced quickly, and then I kinda just got stuck. My father really seemed to like it. A ministry was something that he understood." She laughed. "You probably have the wrong impression of my father now. You probably think of some close-minded little man. No, my father is not like this at all. Honestly, I don't know why I am still at this job. Maybe I was just too scared to try something else." "I see. Something like this was never an option for Fred and me. But then, there were two of us and we never considered the consequences of anything we did, we never thought of failure or of hardship. We just did what we wanted. Maybe, in contrast to you, we just never grew up." His eyes lost their focus and he seemed to contemplate what he just said. But she didn't want him to go back to his dark place. "Nonsense. You have a profitable business, in Diagon Alley of all places. I think it's fair to say that Fred and you did pretty well." "Not so profitable right now", he said looking down at his hands, which lay on the table in front of him. Keylin hesitated for a moment, but then reached over the table to take his hand in hers for a second time this day. "George", she said softly, "you need to open again." "I don't know if I can, without Fred," he said, his voice shaking, still not raising his gaze from their hands. "Of course you can", she said firmly, giving his hand another squeeze. They just sat silently for a few minutes.

Finally he looked up from their hands to look at her. His eyes were just incredible. Suddenly feeling awkward, she drew back her hand. "Well, I certainly cannot manage the shop alone." He hesitated for a moment, as if unsure what to say next. "Keylin, how would you like to work with me? You just said yourself that you are in a dead end job and need a time out from home. You had so many great ideas for products, stuff that Fred and I never thought of. We could do the experiments together and then sell them in the shop. We can negotiate about the profit of course. Maybe we can split it for your products, or I can buy them from you should you wish to return to Scotland at some point. It's not important, I just meant to say we could figure this stuff out. What do you think?"

Surprised, Keylin hesitated. She had not seen this coming. Just yesterday morning he had wanted to shut his door in her face and now he asked her to stay and work with him? She hardly knew this man, but she actually enjoyed being with him. He looked almost hopeful and it flattered her that he apparently returned the feeling. There was just something about him. Was this really about the shop for him? Quickly, she suppressed these thoughts. She knew this guy for two days. For all she knew, he had made her a business proposal, nothing more. She had to take him out of the equation to consider it.

She truly did not enjoy her job at the Ministry, but quitting just like that to head into something she had not idea if it would work out was just plain stupid. But she could easily take half a year of sabbatical, an unpaid leave that allowed her to come back to her work if she wished. That would be a safe option. She could just try this and see where it led. She really would enjoy being away from home for a while. Not just because of David, but also to get some distance from her family. Not that she didn't like being around them, but sometimes the protectiveness of her father was just too much. And she was a witch for God's sake. She could just apperate home any time to visit. Already her mind was roaming far ahead. She imagined spending evenings with George pored over experimental jinxes and hexes, she imagined renting a nice little room somewhere in Diagon Alley, she certainly would not stay in the Leaky Cauldron for a longer time. She imagined serving customers in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, advising them on the best way to play jokes on their friends and showing them the jinxes she herself had created. She smiled at George. "I think I like this idea very much."


	6. Chapter 6 - Open for buisness

The next few days went by in a blur. George had reopened the shop just two days after their dinner. Keylin was surprised on how quickly customers had returned. Apparently, word had gotten around quickly that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was open again and given that You Know Who's horrible reign was certainly over, people seemed to be thirsting for hoaxes and jinxes. In fact, some of the more popular products were sold out within days after reopening.

Keylin had asked around for a place to stay and had been directed to a Mrs. Godham, who apparently had a lot of space after her children had moved out and her husband had passed. When Keylin had gone to Mrs. Godhams house just a few meters down in Diagon Alley from Georges shop, she had been surprised when the witch that opened the door had been the friendly women Keylin had asked about Weezly's Wizard Wheezes on the day she had met George. Keylin had liked the old witch immediately, and when she showed a beautifully decorated and very clean room to Keylin, she immediately agreed.

Almost every night after they closed the shop, Keylin and George stayed late into the night to replenish the sold products and to experiment with Keylin's ideas. George's mood slowly started to improve during their weeks, it seemed like getting back to work and spending time with Keylin helped to push back his grief. At least, Keylin never had to extract George from the Leakey Caldron ever again. So after some weeks George was in excellent mood most nights, joking, laughing, teasing, yet still some nights he was very distant and hardly looked at her. Keylin wasn't quite sure what to make of it. She really enjoyed the evenings with fun George, and these nights she could hardly believe how distant he could sometimes be. Often, they worked long into the night, but just as frequent they started talking about their lives. George really did have some stories to tell. About Harry Potter and their fight against You Know Who, though he avoided the battle of Hogwarts and the death of Fred. Yet in length, he talked about their resistance in the last year, about their radio show, their work for the Order of the Phoenix. And he talked about his family, told her all of his brothers and his sister Ginny, who he really seemed to adore. Apparently he spend every Sunday night at his parents home to have dinner with the entire family. Keylin herself talked almost as much about her family and her life, but she preferred to listen to George. It was a good excuse to be watching him and she was delighted whenever she saw the sparkle of mischief in his eyes again. It was exhausting to work so late into the night and then to open the shop on the next day, but for years, she had not felt so happy.

Often, they ended up eating dinner together after finishing in the shop. Usually, they went to Georges place. Mrs. Godham had said many times that she did not mind if she brought him, but it still made her feel uncomfortable, almost as if she brought a boyfriend home to her mother. One of the nights, just a couple of weeks after the reopening of the shop, they had one of their dinners at Georges. They had finished their dinner and were halfway through a bottle of wine, and Keylin was talking about one of her favourite places in Scotland. A little plateau in the highlands, just a few hours hike from her house, with beautiful view of the surrounding mountains. Well, beautiful if it was not raining at the time. "Isn't it always raining in Scotland, lassie?" George smirked at her. He found it incredibly funny to call her "lassie". She usually pretended that she didn't like it, though in fact she loved him say it. He only called her that when he was in a good mood, and then he caressed the word as if he would have called her "love" or "darling". If he looked into her eyes and combined it with one of his radiant smiles, it caused a warm feeling to spread through her body that she had not felt in a while.

To cover up the effect he had on her, she rolled her eyes exasperated. "It's raining there about as often as in your England." Suddenly, an idea stroke her. It was a beautiful evening in July, and all this talking of Scotland had made her miss her home. She griped the wine bottle with one hand and hold out the other to George. "Let's see if it's raining in Scotland." He raised one eyebrow at her, but got up from his chair and slowly took her hand, holding her eyes with his. When their hands touched, an electric sensation shot up her arm and she almost gasped. He was standing so close, she could smell him, and he smelled just wonderful. Keylin's heart stared to beat frantically in her chest. For a moment neither of them moved and George seemed as affected by this moment as her. But then, one of his ironic smiles appeared on his face, though Keylin had the feeling that his attempt to ridicule the situation was rather forced. "Well lassie, lead the way."


	7. Chapter 7 - Scotland

Keylin turned on the spot, picturing the plateau firmly in her head. As soon as they arrived, she led go of George's hand. She was embarrassed about her earlier reaction to his proximity and touch and angry that he had made fun of her for it. He was just so confusing and infuriating. It was obvious that he liked spending time with her, even outside of working hours. Of course, this could just mean that he wanted to be friends with her. A few times now, she had caught him starring at her, even though he usually overplayed the situation with a joke. What was his problem? Keylin certainly was, she had come to realize a few weeks ago, falling head over heels in love with him.

"Wow, this place really is beautiful". Keylin nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard George's voice just inches from her ear. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she had not noticed him approaching. "A penny for your thoughts?" he asked with a grin. Keylin fought hard to supress a blush. She wouldn't have told him what she had just been thinking about for all the gold in Gringotts. Instead she snorted and started to tell him about the landmarks they could see from this spot and in which direction her parent's house was located. "Do you want to visit them?" George asked. Keylin thought about how weird it would be to show up there with George and introduce him like he was her boyfriend. "No, not tonight" she replied.

So they both settled down on the ground and shared the remaining wine between them. George was sitting so close to her that, even though they were just not touching, she could feel his heat on her skin and smell the sweet smell that was just him. The sensation was intoxicating and she imagined trying to kiss him. But then all the times that he had been so distant flushed through her mind and she realized that she could not handle it if he would turn her down. So they just sat silently, looked at the stars of the cloudless sky and finished the wine. Finally, Keylin got up and extended her hand to him. "Ready to go back?"


	8. Chapter 8 - Meet the parents

With a sigh, Keylin settled down on a little sofa in the back of the shop. It had been a busy day today and she had been running from customer to customer for hours. George had retreated to his office to go over the inventory, soon they'd be closing down the shop. But then, the doorbell indicated another customer. Regretfully, she got up from the sofa to see if she could be of assistance. A middle aged, round, friendly looking witch came in together with a tall balding man. Even though his hair was retreating and greying, it was clear that it had once been flaming red, the same colour as his wife's. Even if Keylin had never seen the photo in George's apartment, she would have recognized these two immediately as his parents.

Excited, she rushed forward. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I am Keylin McDonnald, it is no nice to meet you. George has told me so much about you, and the rest of the family of course." Beaming, she shook hands with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who looked genuinely surprised. Had she come out too strong? "It is very nice to meet you too, dear", Mrs. Weasley said, quickly recovering from her surprise to smile pleasantly at Keylin. Mrs. Weasley seemed to want to say something more, but then hesitated to look at her husband, who, however, seemed to be at a loss of words as well. "I'm sure you are here to see George?" Keylin quickly said to cover the silence. "Yes, we are" Mr. Weasley beamed and his wife nodded quickly. "He's in the back, let me get him." "Thank you dear," Mrs. Weasley smiled. Keylin returned the smile and turned towards the office, just when George came strolling around the corner, his attention on a sheet of parchment in his hands. "Hey lassie", he said without looking up, "I hope you don't have any plans tonight, we really need to make more of your weak knee jinxes, people are buying them like crazy, and maybe afterwards we can -".

But Keylin never learned what else George had intended for the rest of the night, since he finally looked up from his parchment to see his parents. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking from his parents to Keylin and back again. A blush was beginning to show on his face. "Mum, Dad, what are you doing here?" he stammered nervously. Clearly he was not happy to see his parents, though Keylin had no idea why. "It is nice to see _you too_ , son," Mr. Weasley said with an emphasis on the latter part to indicate he was not pleased with the reception. "Sorry," George said, blushing even more, "I just hadn't expected you." Mrs. Weasley seemed mollified. "Oh it is so nice that you opened again, dear." She looked around. "The place looks wonderful." "So," George said, nervously glancing at Keylin, "do you want me to show you around?" Frowning slightly, Keylin was studying George. What was going on here? Why was George embarrassed that his parents came to visit him at the shop? "Yes, that would be lovely," Mrs. Weasley beamed. Uncertainly, she turned to Keylin, "will you be joining us, dear?"

Suddenly, realisation hit her like a punch in the face. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had no freaking clue who she was and how close she had been with their son for the last months. Of course, that explained everything. How George was so uncomfortable with his parents unannounced visit, how Mr. and Mrs. Weasley didn't know what to say. Keylin had greeted them, expecting them to know who she was and they didn't know what to say without giving away the truth. George, with whom she had spend almost every waking hour in the last three months, with whom she had spend so many nights laughing, eating, talking, looking at the God damn stars of Scotland, who she had comforted many nights when his grieve had threatened to overtake him. George, who met his family every Sunday night for dinner at the burrow, who had told her so many stories about all family members, his Dad's obsession with Muggle stuff, Charlie's work with dragons, Bill's warewolf encounter, and so, so many stories about his and Fred's mischiefs, had not mentioned _her_ to his family at all. That's what she meant to him. Nothing at all.

Keylin drew a ragged breath and was fighting tears. Just get out off here, you can cry later, just get out. "I'm sure you'd rather spend some time alone with your son." Her own voice sounded distant to her. "Please excuse me." Without waiting for a response she turned around and fled to the exit. She heard George call after her, but ignored him. Just get out.


	9. Chapter 9 - Staying

Angrily Keylin stuffed her clothes and her other possessions into her trunk. Since she had just been living in the rented room in Mrs. Godhams house, there was not much to pack and she was just about finished when there was a knock on her door. That must be Mrs. Godham again. The friendly old woman had been really sad when she heard that Keylin wanted to leave in the morning. Mrs. Godham had gotten quite used to her company and enjoyed having her around, baking pies for her and telling stories from her past. Truth be told, Keylin would miss the old witch as well. So the smile that she set on her face was only half faked when she turned to open the door.

She let it die on her face when she realized it was not Mrs. Godham after all. George was standing in the door, looking rather upset. "What do you want?" Keylin did not even attempt to hide the anger in her voice. George flinched as if she had hit him, and she felt sorry, a little bit. "To talk to you. Can I come in?" Instead of answering she opened the door a little wider and stepped back. He entered and closed the door behind him. "You're packing. You are leaving? This is about my parents." It was something between a statement and a question. With satisfaction, Keylin noticed the panic in his voice. Given how she stormed out of the shop before and the state of her room, it would be ridiculous to attempt to deny it. "Aye." To gain some time and to figure out what else to say to him, she turned her back to him and continued packing her trunk.

"Please don't go." His voice sliced her like a knife. He sounded so vulnerable that she wanted to take him in her arms. No, this was not good enough. So instead she turned around to him. "I had planned to come by the shop tomorrow morning, so that we can finalize our agreement regarding the selling of my ideas in your shop. I think I'll like to go with the 25% option. Business is back to usual, the shop will run fine without me now." "I don't care about the goddamn shop. I don't want _you_ to go." Keylin's heart missed a few beats in her chest. His vulnerability had turned into desperate determination. He looked at her with this intense gaze of his again, and it was almost enough to make her give in and throw herself in his arms. No! She dropped her eyes, shook her head as much to clear it as to avoid George's look. No, it was just not good enough. She needed more from him.

"Why do you even care? Apparently I am not even important enough to tell your parents about, just somebody who works for you." George opened his mouth, closed it again and swallowed. He closed his eyes for just a moment, it seemed he was fighting some sort of battle with himself. When he opened his eyes again the battle seemed won. He closed the distance to her and took her hands into this and began to gently stroke the backs for her hands with his thumbs. A warm feeling started spreading up her arms from his touch. He was watching their hands for a moment before he turned his eyes back to her face. "You are _very_ important to me, Keylin. I didn't tell my family about you not because you don't matter but because.." he swallowed and looked at her hands again, "because I feel guilty and ashamed." "Guilty? _Ashamed?"_ Keylin yanked her hands away and could not keep her voice down. "You are _ashamed_ of me?" "What?" George looked positively startled. "No, no no! Of course I am not ashamed of you. I am ashamed of _me_!" "What the hell are you talking about?" George hesitated just a second before answering. "When I am with you, I am happy. Sometimes I don't think about Fred for hours. Sometimes, I forget that he died when I am with you. Don't you understand? Fred, the most important person to me in the whole world, my twin brother, my best friend, my other half, has died, and now there are these times when I am not mourning him. How could I tell my family this? How could I tell my mother? I see the way she looks at me. When she looks at me she sees Fred. How couldn't she? _She_ certainly has not forgotten him. What would she think of me if she knew."

Keylin was completely stunned. She had not expected this, not at all. How often had she laid awake at night wondering about his mood changes. Now he looked like he was back in the battle he was fighting with himself, and he seemed to be loosing. She stepped over to him and cupped his face in her hands, carefully avoiding the hole where his ear had once been, her anger at him completely evaporated. "Oh George. Do you really think that your mother wants you to suffer? Do you really think that Fred would want you to be miserable? Nobody in your family will believe for one second that you have forgotten Fred, how could you ever? They love you like they loved Fred and they want you to be better. They want you to be happy."

George looked at her as if she had just thrown him a lifesaver. "You really believe that?" he said weakly. "Of course." She dropped her hands to his shoulders and pulled him into an embrace. He hesitated just for one second and then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in even closer. He buried his face in her hair and they just stood like this for several moments. She felt incredibly sorry for him. Sorry that he had lost his brother, sorry for the pain he was feeling when he was thinking of him, and sorry for the guilt he felt when he was not morning him. Yet despite her sympathy, she was very aware of his body pressed against hers, of his hands on her back and his head at the side of her neck. The smell of him filled her nose and she could have stood like this forever.

Finally, after what had probably been a few minutes but only felt like seconds, he pulled back a bit and raised one hand to stroke her cheek with his thumb. His face was so very close to hers. Her heart was beginning to race. "I'm sorry Keylin, I really am." He paused to stroke her cheek again. "Will you stay?" Her skin sparkled where he had touched her cheek. "Yes, I will stay." In this moment, she would have promised him anything. "Thank you", he smiled at her. He visibly relaxed as the tension went out of his body. He pressed his forehead against hers and was taking deep breaths to calm himself. The break of eye contact gave Keylin a chance to clear her head. She would not be put off with vague declarations of affection after this, she wanted more. She raised her hands and cupped his face again. George lifted his forehead from hers to smile at her again in a way that made her positively week in the knees. Before she could change her mind, she raised to the tips of her toes, closed her eyes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

As she let her lips linger for a moment, a low moan escaped from his mouth that seemed to come from deep inside him. Surprised, Keylin drew back and opened her eyes. Georges eyes were closed and he seemed as relaxed and at ease as she had never seen him before. For a moment, she was reminded of the picture of him and his family in his apartment. As his eyes opened, a smile spread over his face. She did not think she had ever seen him smile like that. His mouth came down on hers and a million little explosions were set off in her lips. The kiss was soft and careful at first, but with an intensity that made her shiver and pull him closer. The kiss became more demanding and her body reacted to him. She was very aware of her breasts pressed to his chests and of a warm feeling that spread through her body. After a while he pulled away slightly to catch his breath. Clearly he was as much affected by their kiss as Keylin was. He made good use of the distance to stare in her eyes with the same intense gaze with which he had so often watched her and the realization had hit her. He had wanted to be with her all along, he just was too scared to admit it to himself.

She lounged at him again and kissed him even more deeply. She wanted him so much in this moment. She tore at his shirt and did not care the slightest when the buttons started to rip free. She tore open the shirt all the way from top to bottom and then spread her hand from his chest to his shoulders to strip it off. When her hands touched his chest he moaned into her mouth and let his hands travel down her back. When he reached her bottom, he pulled her close and Keylin could feel his erection pressing against her lower stomach. The feeling of him hard against her stomach only made her want to feel him further down and she could feel herself becoming wet. He broke the kiss just to strip her out of her shirt and then trailed kisses along her neck and lower until he reached the top of her breasts. Keylin shivered when he slowly and softly pushed one strap of her bra over her left shoulder to expose one of her breasts. After he made a sound that Keylin interpreted as a mixture of appreciation and desire, he lowered his mouth on her and now it was her time to cry out.

Stimulated by her reaction, he quickly removed her bra completely and cupped he other breast with his hand while he was still sucking at the nipple of the other one and flicking his tongue against it. "Oh George", Keylin whispered between small moans. Upon hearing his name, he released her breasts and cupped her face instead. "Lassie", he said, and this time he definitely caressed the word, "I can't believe this is actually happening. I dreamed of this so many times, but then I just couldn't..." "It's ok, let's not go down this road again", Keylin said and kissed him again. When she opened the buttons of his trousers, her fingers brushed against the tip of his penis and he inhaled a sharp breath. Excited by his reaction to her accidental touch, she slid her hands into his opened trousers to stroke the full length of him through the thin material of his boxers. He pressed against her hand moaned into her ear and the sensation shoot strait down into her clitoris. How much better would it feel to have him press against her there, but standing up, he was just too tall. So she drew her hand out of his trousers and pushed him on her bed.

Slowly, and looking him in the eye, Keylin pulled down her jeans and took off her socks. Then, after a second of hesitation, she slowly pulled down her panties. She now stood completely naked. George was roaming her body with his eyes, his mouth slightly open, looking mishelved and completely mesmerized. With what she hoped was a seductive smile, she knelt before him on the bed and pulled down his trousers and boxers, pulling the socks off when she reached his ankles. Now, his genitals were in full sight, and she certainly liked what she saw. His penis was thick and long with his balls surrounded by soft reddish curls. She wanted to feel him, taste him. She put down her hands on both sides of his legs and leaned forward, very aware of her breasts now hanging in full view for him. Yet, before she could lower her mouth on him he stopped her. "Keylin, don't." She raised a questioning eyebrow at him. He blushed slightly. "It's not that I don't want you to, but I'm so aroused I'm afraid I might come." Quickly he covered his embarrassment and grinned at her. "And I assume you still have something else in mind to do with me." Keylin couldn't help but to grin back at him. "You assumed correctly." "Then, let me be of service to _you_ lassie."

He reached for her hips and flicked her on her back. He kissed her again, but quickly moved further down with his mouth and his hands to caress her breasts again. "Gods, lassie, you are so beautiful", he whispered against her skin between kissing and sucking her breasts and nipples. Keylin curled her hands into his thick red hair and simply gave in to the sensation. After a while he moved down further until his head was between her legs. Softly he licked and kissed the insides of her tights. The softness of his lips was almost too much to bear on her tender skin. Finally, he lowered his mouth on her clitoris, closed his lips around her nub and sucked softly. Keylin cried out and only dug her hands deeper into his hair. She was so wet and swollen by now that every light touch vibrated through her whole body. He parted her outer lips with his fingers and slowly pushed a finger inside her, while his mouth was still on her nub. The feeling was just exhilarating and the pressure he was creating was building up more and more inside of her. After he probed her with his finger for a while, she pulled him up by his hair. As good as this was, she wanted more. "I can't wait any longer", she whispered against his lips before kissing him again, "I want you inside me now." His eyes became slightly unfocused and he looked at her with so much desire in his eyes that Keylin felt herself becoming even more wet. He lowered himself on her and pressed his penis against her swollen flesh. They both closed their eyes for a moment to enjoy the feeling. "I took the Protectis Potion this month", she said softly pushing up her hip to increase the friction. "So did I", he replied hoarsely. "You did?" she raised her eyebrow and smirked at him. "I thought this had not been on your conscious mind?" He returned her smirk. "Better save than sorry, wouldn't you agree?" "I would", she replied.

And without another word, he finally pushed inside of her. The feeling of his full length inside her was just marvelous and another moan escaped from her mouth that was echoed by George. He stayed buried deep inside her for a moment with his eyes closed. When he opened them again he started kissing her very deeply and then finally started to move inside her. He moved slowly, but pushed inside her deep, holding the pressure for a sweet moment at the deepest spot before drawing back again, all the while matching his movement which those of his tongue. Keylin could feel her orgasm coming almost from the first thrust. She raised her legs to wrap them around George's torso to get him even deeper inside of her, which drew another moan from George. His movements became faster and more frantic, he seemed at the edge of loosing control, which turned Keylin on even more. Before long she could feel her orgasm coming. She dropped her hands, which had been caressing his back to his ass and pulled him even deeper inside her raising her hips even more. This seemed to almost send George over the edge as well judging from his reaction and Keylin felt her orgasm crash down on her. She screamed his name and pulled him so hard inside her that it almost hurt. George just came seconds after her and from his screams his orgasm was just as intense as hers.

Finally, he dropped his head on her chest and lay there for a few moments, desperately trying to catch his breath. Keylin, also breathing deeply broad her hands back up his broad back and resumed her caress. They lay like that for several moments as their breaths normalized and Keylin wondered if George had fallen asleep when he finally lifted his head to look at her with so much tenderness in his eyes that she almost started to cry.

"That was amazing", he said hoarsely. Keylin could only nod. He drew out of her and rolled off, immediately wrapping an arm around her and pulling her onto his shoulder. She continued stroking his chest with her free arm, while he ran the arm holding her up and down her side. They just lay like for a few minutes both enjoying the warm and relaxed feeling in their bodies. "Are you ok?" George finally asked. Keylin propped herself up on her elbows and planted a light kiss on his lips. "I am wonderful." "I'm glad to hear that", George smiled at her. He raised a hand to stroke her cheek and she closed her eyes briefly to fully appreciate the soft touch of his hand.

"Guess what? My Mom invited you for family dinner at the burrow on Sunday. Well, invited might be an understatement. She strongly insisted that I bring you." Keylins eyes flew open. "What?!" "Yes", George grinned, "I think my Mom immediately realized what was going on when you stormed out of the shop. She certainly realized long before I did. We were talking for a while, I don't even know about what, I was completely preoccupied with you, conflicted. Afraid that you would leave, afraid to go after you and admit my feelings for you." He stopped for a moment and a warm feeling started to spread through Keylin. He had just admitted that he had feelings for her. "Anyway, after a few minutes she stopped talking all of a sudden and said that I should go after you and talk to you. At first I pretended like I didn't know what she was talking about, but I could never fool my mother. When I realized that she was right, I literally ran out of the shop. Before I reached the door she called back to me that she expected me to bring you to dinner on Sunday. Her tone did not allow for an argument. I guess she was quite confident in me."

Amazed, Keylin stared at George and slowly a smile crept on her face. "Well", she said, kissing him softly, "I am glad your mother knows you so well."


	10. Chapter 10 - Dinner at the Burrow

Nervously, Keylin regarded herself in the mirror. "Nice, darling, but enough to impress your wannabe parents in law?" Keylin rolled her eyes at the mirror. "Shut it, what do you know?" "True darling, I only watched people dress my entire existence." "Ignore the blasted thing," George said when he came over to press a kiss against her temple, "you look amazing, even though I think it really wouldn't matter to my family if you looked like a troll."

"Great," Keylin sighed, "that makes me feel so much better". Laughing, George drew her closer to kiss her properly. "Don't worry, _you_ will be fine." Now it was his time to look nervous. "I'm sure you have nothing to worry about for yourself either," Keylin tried to calm him. "We'll see. You're ready to go?"

Keylin nodded. It was Sunday 6pm and they were expected at the Burrow for dinner. The last few days had gone by in a blink of the eye. After the first night at Mrs. Godhams, she had stayed every night at George's apartment. On the weekend, they had left the apartment, and his bed, only to buy food. It had been one the best few days of her life.

George took some floo powder from a box over the fireplace, shot her one last dashing smile that could not quite hide his nervousness, then threw the powder into the fire, stepped inside and called "the Burrow". Taking a deep breath, Keylin followed him.

When she arrived, Mrs. Weasley was already hugging George. "Oh it's so great to see you, darling." When she saw Keylin, she let go of George and hugged her instead. "And I am so happy to see you again, dear." Pleasantly surprised by the warm greeting Keylin said "thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Weasley." "Oh please call me Molly, dear". From the corner of her eyes, she could see George's eyebrows rise. Apparently it was not common for his mother to offer a first name basis to her children's girlfriends and boyfriends. "Come on, let me introduce you to the rest of the family." Grabbing Keylins hand, Molly marched her towards what she assumed was the living room. She shot a helpless look back towards George who grinned weakly and shrugged, but at least made to follow them.

There was quite a gathering in the living room. Keylin immediately recognized George's family members from the picture that was hanging in his apartment. "Everyone, this is Keylin MacDonnald." She first gestured to the red haired girl, "This is George's youngest sister Ginerva and her boyfriend Harry, my youngest son Ron and his girlfriend Hermione, this is Percy, and my oldest Bill and his wife Fleur. Charlie couldn't make it unfortunately." Keylin shook hands with everybody and tried not to stare at Harry Potter too much. They hype about him was not as strong in Scotland as it was in England, but of course he had been famous since she was a little girl, and even more famous after he defeated You Know Who the second time, this time hopefully for real. Now there was a story in the Prophet about him almost every day, and about Ron and Hermione too. Still, she thought she managed to treat them as casually like the rest.

She was offered a seat and once she took it she was bombarded with questions. How she had met George, how she had come to work at the shop, for how long she had already been there, since when she and George had been together, how she liked London and Diagon Alley, she was asked about her family and her past in Scotland and whether she planned to stay in London now. Keylin tried to answer as best she could, though saying that the essentially had only been together for five days raised a few eyebrows. She even told the story of how she had met George in the Leakey Cauldron, though she left out his state of intoxication and that she had to bring him home that night, for which George shot her a grateful look. To make up for that, she told in great detail how she had appeared on his doorstep early the next morning and made the apartment sound even more a mess than it was and how she had made George take a shower and change into clean clothes for what must have been the first time weeks.

If she thought that George would be embarrassed, she was proven wrong. George grinned broadly and reacted good-natured to his siblings teasing, yet he shot a glance in the direction of the kitchen and seemed glad that his mother who was finishing the preparations for dinner did not hear any of it. Their banter was interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Weasley who had to finish up some last minute reports for the Ministry. After they shook hands again, Mrs. Weasley announced that dinner was ready and the family gathered around the magically enlarged dinner table.

Luckily, during dinner the centre of attention was not on Keylin alone as the family talked about every day issues in their jobs and their lives and would just occasionally ask Keylin some questions. Yet, after their truly delicious dinner was finished, conversations started to die down and a nervous silence engulfed the Weasley family. Everyone shot glances at George and at Mrs. and Mr. Weasley and Keylin could feel that something else was coming. George could clearly feel it was well, since he suddenly became very still and stiff. Under the table, Keylin reached over to squeeze his hand and tried to send him a reassuring smile. Finally, after a final look to her husband, Mrs. Weasley broke the silence.

"George, dear, we are all so happy that you are finally getting better, and that you have met Keylin," she gave Keylin a warm smile over the table, "but, we are wondering why you never said anything over the last months. Looking back, I realize how you evaded our questions, you never wanted to talk about the store and how things are going there now, you never told us what you did outside of work. Of course, you don't have to tell your family about everything that goes on in your life, we all have our secrets, but you shut us out completely."

George looked as if his worst fears for this night had come true. He couldn't look his mother in the eyes. Keylin gave his hand another squeeze under the table and finally he looked up. "I'm sorry, Mum. I.. I was ashamed and afraid that you would judge me." "Judge you for what, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked very softly. "For moving on, for being happy again, for falling in love, even though Fred is gone, even though he can never, will never again.." his voice broke, and George was fighting tears.

Mrs. Weasley shot out of her chair as if catapulted and rounded to table to embrace George into her arms. Her tears were running freely. "Oh Georgie, how could you for one second believe that we would judge you for trying to be happy again. That is what we were all hoping and waiting for in the last month. That is all a mother ever wants, that her children are save and happy. Yes, Fred is gone, and it breaks my heart every day, but you, you are still alive and it killed me to see you so miserable. How could you have believed that I, that we wanted you to suffer?" Mrs. Weasley couldn't go on at this point either and she was just hugging George so hard that Keylin was afraid his ribs would crack. All other Weasleys were rising as well, trying to hug George around Mrs. Weasley who refused to let go of him or patting his shoulder telling him that of course they wanted him to be happy, that they knew he would never forget Fred. Keylin was pretty sure she heard Ginny call him a git for assuming that they expected him to be miserable. By now, hardly any eye remained dry.

Finally, Mrs. Weasley let go of George and left the living room under the pretence to get dessert, but Keylin assumed that she just wanted a moment to herself to calm down. After a while she reappeared cleaned up, but also with dessert and the remainder of the evening was a cheerful event, with lots of laughs but also lots of tears as the family was telling stories about Fred and inevitably George. It seems like there really never used to be one without the other. At least until recently.

It was already quite late at night, when the guests started to take the Floo network home. "How about we walk for a bit and then apparate home" George whispered to Keylin. "Yes, I'd like that." So they said their goodbyes, which again involved a lot of hugs and some tears from Mrs. Weasley and then left through the front door.

Once the door shut behind them, George entwined his fingers with hers. "So, how do you feel?" Keylin asked? "Like I have been trampled by a group of trolls", but he was grinning to let her know he was joking, "but also relieved", he finally said more seriously. "Good, hate to say it, but I told you so." Keylin couldn't help herself but to grin up at George. "Yeah you did." He stopped in his tracks to pull her into his arms. "I hope this won't scare you away." "What do you mean?" Keylin asked. "Well, that was a pretty intensive night. Lots of drama, lots of teas, lots of revelations." Keylin was wondering if he referred to the moment when he had told his family that 'he had fallen in love'. She had noticed at that moment, but too much had happed for her to dwell on it. It didn't scare her though, on the contrary, it let a big smile spread over her face. "You won't scare me away so easily, you'll have to put a bit more effort into it than that." George was smiling broadly at her as well now. "I am glad to hear it", he said, before pulling her in for a deep, long kiss. The kiss was different from those they had shared the last days. He pulled her so close that she was now afraid for her own ribs and he kissed her like she was the air he needed for breathing. Keylin gave in and tried to show him that she was there for him and didn't plan on going anywhere. Their kiss gained more and more in intensity and with the last still functioning part of her brain, Keylin suggested to apperate to George's apartment to which he immediately agreed. That night, Keylin had to concentrate very hard to not splinch themselves.


End file.
